CPS expands access to remote learning program: ‘For kids who are high risk … this is a very good option’

For show-and-tell Friday, Genevieve Billingsley handed her granddaughter, Alaina, a green and yellow ukulele. The 5-year-old picked at the strings in front of her iPad as she sat on the sofa in her Belmont Cragin apartment.

Already that morning, Alaina had watched a video on the weather, written her name with a large yellow pencil and practiced “finger breathing,” a mindfulness technique. Her prekindergarten teacher and special education classroom assistant offered her virtual praise and encouragement through her tablet. Occasionally Alaina paused her schoolwork to lift her Spider-Man shirt to make sure her belly button was still there.

Alaina is a student in the Virtual Academy, the remote-learning option Chicago Public Schools introduced in August for “medically fragile” students as the district returned to full-time, in-person learning for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic. CPS recently announced it is relaxing the academy’s admission guidelines for the fall and increasing access to advanced coursework.

The Tribune spoke with parents of four children enrolled in the academy this year. They shared differing experiences, but each said they were grateful for the program because they were able to limit exposure to the coronavirus. More than 15,000 COVID-19 cases have been recorded this school year among the 270,000 students enrolled in CPS-run schools, according to data from the district, which insists schools are not sites of significant transmission.

“We had a rough start, but we’ve smoothed things out,” Billingsley said of the Virtual Academy. “I can’t speak for all of us (in the program), but there are a lot that feel that we’ve finally figured out a good plan for the future. We’re always going to be kind of at a bit of a deficit with how things are going to work out with (personal interaction), but I feel for kids like (Alaina), who are high risk, and kids who struggle socially, I feel like this is a very good option.”

To qualify, students from prekindergarten to 12th grade had to have a certain medical condition such as leukemia, spina bifida or cystic fibrosis. Children with asthma, diabetes, heart disease or other ailments could be admitted if their attendance suffered the prior year.

Marisela Reyes said her 8-year-old daughter, Nayeli, has CHARGE syndrome, a rare, complex disorder that has impaired her hearing and vision and affected her heart and other parts of her body.

Reyes noticed before the pandemic Nayeli easily picked up illnesses from her classmates that sent her to the hospital. Reyes said she or Nayeli’s nurse helps her with her Virtual Academy coursework.

“It’s an amazing experience for us. I’ve been keeping my child healthy,” said Reyes, who lives in the West Lawn neighborhood. “I see her having everything that she needs to learn at the moment, and everything is appropriate for her needs.”

Billingsley said Alaina was born premature and spent eight weeks in the newborn intensive care unit. She has asthma and congenital heart disease. Billingsley said Alaina was rejected when she first submitted the Virtual Academy application last year, but she was accepted on appeal.

Alaina wasn’t alone. CPS said last year it identified 4,265 students who qualified for the Virtual Academy and received more than 700 applications, a number that reflects some students resubmitting paperwork. At least 200 students were denied admission. Around 450 students were enrolled in the Virtual Academy on the 20th day of school, according to CPS data.

Billingsley and Nicole Beattie, whose 5-year-old son, Keith, is in Alaina’s class, described the fall as chaotic because staffing of their virtual classroom was inconsistent. A review of CPS’ public employee files from Sept. 30 — a month after school started — shows nine of 87 Virtual Academy positions were vacant, including two special education teachers and three special education classroom assistants. Ninety-nine Virtual Academy positions had been filled as of March 31, the most recent employment data online.

In a statement, CPS said Virtual Academy teachers were hired as quickly as possible. A substitute was put in place if there was a teacher vacancy. The district said that in one instance, a teacher hired and trained for the Virtual Academy resigned the day before school started, so an assistant principal worked with the substitute and special education classroom assistant to ensure the lessons met student needs.

“CPS actively encourages parents and students to participate in an open dialogue with administrators and staff as the Virtual Academy expands,” the district said in its statement, which noted the school hosts a parents meeting and bilingual advisory council meeting each month.

Beattie hoped for more one-on-one interaction in the Virtual Academy through online breakout rooms, but said momentum slowed when a new teacher or classroom assistant was assigned to the classroom. She said in-person schooling is not the best course for Keith, who has autism with a speech impairment. He struggles to talk and to wear a mask, said Beattie, who feared he would be bullied.

Four students regularly log into their class, while one student has recently been in the hospital, Billingsley and Beattie said. Virtual Academy attendance lagged in the first few months compared with bricks-and-mortar schools, Chalkbeat Chicago found, with exception in January during the omicron surge.

Beattie said that despite the staffing kinks and a curriculum she describes as slow, she still plans to stick with the Virtual Academy and hopes CPS will be better prepared this fall.

“I know my son cannot go into a (district) school. I’m scared he will be bullied due to his condition,” said Beattie, who lives in the West Pullman neighborhood. “So, yes, I do like the remote learning. I’m not going to say, ‘Virtual Academy.’ I’m going to say, ‘Remote learning is awesome, but I wish we had more remote learning academies’” to choose from.

Alaina has reapplied for the Virtual Academy, Billingsley said. She said Alaina contracted the coronavirus around Christmas and has shown signs of long COVID, the term that’s used for when symptoms related to the virus persist for months or even years.

Billingsley said Alaina was still able to participate in class from home, even when she had a fever.

“Going through this with her over the last few months has shown that the Virtual Academy was a better option than her missing out on what would have been off-and-on months of school since January,” Billingsley said.

For fall entry, the Virtual Academy is ditching its list of required ailments. Students are eligible if they have a medical condition documented in their Individualized Education Program or 504 plan and a medical professional recommending remote learning as the best option for them. The district is accepting 2022-23 applications for the Virtual Academy until July 1.

Some parents have repeatedly called on CPS to open access to the Virtual Academy to everyone. This campaign intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic’s delta and omicron variant surges and after the district removed its mask mandate in March.

Students must reapply to the Virtual Academy annually. CPS said it will announce acceptances by July 15. If demand exceeds the capacity of 550, a lottery will determine placement.

Qualifying students who were not accepted will be placed on a waitlist. Accepted students will be enrolled in the Virtual Academy and a district-run school, which will receive funding for the student and host the child for in-person state assessments.

A CPS spokeswoman said the Virtual Academy is partnering with CPS high schools to increase access to advanced placement and dual credit courses for the coming school year, while elementary schools will have access to virtual middle school Spanish and algebra lessons.

Ranning James doesn’t anticipate reenrolling her 10-year-old son in the Virtual Academy. She said remote learning was the best option in the fall for Ayden, who experiences breathing issues and was too young for the COVID-19 vaccine. James said Ayden missed in-person interaction with his classmates, so he recently started attending Skinner West Elementary School after he got vaccinated.

James, who lives in the West Loop, said she wished the Virtual Academy emphasized physical activity more in its schedule. But she praised the program’s teachers and administration for their flexibility. She said Ayden is a fourth grade student who was allowed to study fifth grade curriculum in the Virtual Academy because it best suited him.

“We thought Virtual Academy was a great option for a family like us,” James said. “You have to weigh the pros and cons. There’s no perfect solution during this” pandemic.

tswartz@tribpub.com